Buying a Computer or Printer

Brown students, faculty and staff are eligible for discounted pricing on Apple and Dell computers and Hewlett-Packard (HP) printers. The Personal Purchases section describes how to purchase computers and printers for home/dorm/personal use. The Brown University Purchases section describes how faculty and staff may purchase computers and printers for institutional use. Before buying a computer or printer, please review Brown's recommended computer configurations or recommended printer configurations.

  Recommended How to Buy
    Personal Institutional
 Apple Desktop Apple
Desktops		 Bookstore Tech Center
 Dell Desktop OptiPlex
760		 Dell Direct

Bookstore Tech Center		 Dell Premier
 Apple Portable MacBooks Bookstore Tech Center
 Dell Portable Latitude
E Series		 Dell Direct

Bookstore Tech Center		 Dell Premier
 HP Printers HP
Printers		 CompUtopia

Note: The best pricing is available on the Dell systems listed as standard configurations. Selecting different models or changing configurations will affect price. Discounted rates on Dell computers are available from both locations, however, inventory and configurations will vary.


Due to their general incompatibility with Brown's computing environment, use of 64-bit versions of the Windows operating system is UNSUPPORTED by CIS.

Personal Purchases: Students, Faculty, and Staff

Brown University students, faculty, and staff who plan to purchase a new computer or printer for personal use are encouraged to purchase a Brown recommended computer from Dell or Apple or a recommended printer from HP.

Recommendations: To buy:

For Personal Purchases, the Brown Computer Store is your authorized service center for both Dell and Apple computers.

Brown University Purchases: Faculty and Staff

Faculty are free to choose the computing platform which best supports their research and teaching requirements. Dell is Brown's preferred supplier for Windows computers; faculty should consider purchasing one of the CIS recommended Dell standard configurations.

Administrative departments will be moving to a Windows-based computing environment over the next several years. Dell is Brown's preferred supplier, and departments should purchase one of the CIS recommended Dell standard configurations. If you are administrative staff working in an academic department, consult with your Departmental Computing Coordinator (DCC) about the computer platform appropriate for you. If your department doesn't have a DCC, contact the Help Desk.

Faculty and staff requiring a printer for Brown University use are encouraged to purchase a recommended model from HP.

Recommendations: To buy:

CIS Service and Repair is a Dell Authorized Service Center, an Apple Authorized Service Location and HP printers Service Center.

If you have any questions about the standard configurations before placing an order, please check with your Departmental Computing Coordinator (DCC) or contact CIS Software Services (863-7476, email: Software_Services).